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Are you a Halloween decoration junkie like my sister and her boyfriend or a Halloween avoider? If you need definitions to help define the catagories, let's just say I'm visiting my sister while I'm in town for some booksignings and I was up until 2am last night building a ufo for the lawn (it is very cool, even when I'm not hyped up on candy. Hey, a master builder needs her strength!) and we are in a panic because we need MORE fog machines. I suppose this doesn't help clarify the distinction, as anyone normal would seem like an avoider.

In any case, if reading Halloweeny books is more your way of doing things, I recommend Underdead and the sequel, Underdead In Denial. Because I wrote them and my Halloween candy addiction is getting expensive, so please help a writer by buying books!

Award-winning mystery UNDERDEAD is the story of overworked, unappreciated middle school science teacher Jo Gartner who is bitten by an inept vampire and becomes almost Undead.

In the sequel UNDERDEAD IN DENIAL, gorgeous, enigmatic vampire Will is back and almost undead Jo Gartner is more determined than ever to avoid all things vampire and maintain a normal life. And what's more normal than doing community service to help a lovesick friend? But getting dressed up in a Halloween costume for a haunted house fundraiser is not what Jo had in mind. Especially when one of the extras turns up dead…

From cozy vampire mystery Underdead In Denial, sequel to award-winning Underdead.Gorgeous, enigmatic vampire Will is back and almost undead Jo Gartner is more determined than ever to avoid all things vampire and maintain a normal life. And what's more normal than doing community service to help a lovesick friend? But getting dressed up in a Halloween costume for a haunted house fundraiser is not what Jo had in mind. Especially when one of the extras turns up dead…

Excerpt:“What do you want, Will?”

He stepped forward and touched his lips to mine in a light kiss that sent traitorous quivers along my nerve endings.

“I thought that was obvious.”

“I see. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? A little trite for someone of your age. How old are you, anyway?”

His face lit with a sudden grin. “I have missed you, Josephine Gartner.”

A bittersweet pang beat against my chest. I ignored it. “You didn’t come to see the play? The drama kids will be disappointed. They worked so hard littering the town with posters.”

“I came to see you. You decided to live in this world.” A wave of his hand took in the administration building, the academic quad, and the gym hulking in the distance. His gaze remained fixed on me, suddenly serious. “There’s a place for you in…mine, when you want it.”

“Is that what you want? To be my boyfriend?”

“Are you offering?”

A rusty Toyota idling at the gate pulled out onto the street and I realized with a start that the teacher’s parking lot was deserted.

So did Will. The air crackled with the awareness between us. He shifted closer. Only a fraction of an inch separated his hard, lithe body and mine.

He said, “‘You meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it.’ Carl Jung.”

“Better than sitting and doing nothing. Jo Gartner.”

He pulled me hard against him and kissed me. I had forgotten how good he was at that. I forgot that I was supposed to be scared…

Chattering voices pealed like warning bells from the path around the side of the administration building. I shoved Will away.

By the time the group rounded the corner into the parking lot, Will was leaning casually against the SUV parked next to me, gorgeously unruffled, appearing every inch the chivalrous male. He wasn’t looking at the group. His midnight gaze was fixed on me. He watched and waited as I somehow fit my key in the lock, got in, started up my car and drove out of the parking lot.

When I gathered the courage to look back, he was gone. Another black shadow in the night.*****

Today, etrick or treat with me and other Paranormal, Fantasy and Horror authors. The winner gets a huge bag of books and Halloween treats, including a signed copy of UNDERDEAD. To play, visit my website at www.lizjasper.com!

I'm delighted to announce the release of Ariadne's Threadfrom Samhain Publishing! It's part ghost story, part comic crime caper, with a hot romance and a lot of fun.

I'm also thrilled with its first review, from Coffee Time Romance - Lototy said it has "wickedly humorous characters, and a plot that proves to be as intriguing as it is sexy."

So, in the hope you agree with her, here's the blurb and an excerpt :)

ARIADNE'S THREAD by MARIE TREANOR

It was supposed to be a simple burglary…but the ghosts had other ideas.

Glaswegian single mother Ariadne McSween is not having a happy New Year. Instead of celebrating with family and friends in time-honoured tradition, she’s helping her scallywag brother and his even less-savoury friends burgle a mansion in the Scottish Highlands. And nothing is going right.

First there’s the bad weather and car breakdowns. Then, instead of a quick, quiet robbery under cover of a noisy party, Addie finds herself flirting outrageously with the house’s owner, sexy concert pianist and accused murderer, John Maxwell. Worse, her violent and erratic accomplice, Shug, takes their hosts hostage.

Another complication: The house turns out to be haunted, and not just by the ghost of eminent composer Christopher Maxwell. Two randy spirits drawn to the lust of living want to join the party—along with the vengeful shade of John’s murdered wife.

Soon Addie becomes entangled in a host of mysteries, like why are Ariadne and her cohorts being paid to rob a house that holds nothing more valuable than dusty musical manuscripts? And most of all, how does she avoid falling in love with the chief victim of her crime?

EXCERPT:

They had reached the top of the stairs now. Turn right, please turn right, away from Tammy…

He drew her to the left. Addie was sure she could hear the office door rattling. She coughed to cover up any shouting, then found herself whisked into the piano room and the door firmly closed.

“What are we doing here?” she demanded.

“I thought you might like to play the piano with me.”

The lamp was still on. By its poor light, his face looked rugged and more devilish than ever. And he stood too close, much too close. With the door behind her, there was nowhere she could go. God help her, there was nowhere she wanted to go…

“Though now we’re here, I find I don’t give a stuff about playing.”

You could drown in the storm of those eyes. She so needed to be away from him…

“Shit, Kate.” His breathing seemed suddenly uneven. “Remember what you said about the lucky bag?” She opened her mouth to deny that she’d meant any of that, but he didn’t let her speak. “You’re right. It would be a bloody unlucky dip that dropped me in your lap. Tell me to sod off. Tell me quickly, and mean it—right after this kiss…”

His head swooped down and his mouth seized her parted lips before she could think, let alone react to his words. She wasn’t prepared for it. She had no time either to reject him or to savor the moment. He went from speaking straight to kissing, his hands on either side of her face while his body pressed her back into the door. Paralyzed, she hung there while his mouth devoured hers, moving across her lips with a strange, tender hunger she’d never encountered before. It astounded her, enchanted her. So when his tongue slid between her lips, she opened wider to him, meeting his tongue with her own. He wound it in his, danced with it, sucked it into his own mouth while he explored every nook of hers.

Sensation rolled inward like a tidal wave. Every caress of his sensitive fingertips at the corner of her lips, every movement of his devastating mouth, dragged her further in. She clung to him, kissing him back with forgotten passion till he groaned into her mouth.

His hands left her face, trailing down her neck to her shoulders, and down the sides of her body, just teasing her breasts on the way to her waist where they lingered, stroking. Her hard, needy nipples pressed into him through the thin camisole. She moved in his arms, rubbing them against his chest. His hands swept down her hips, holding her while he pressed his lower body into her, his sporran jabbing into her abdomen.

With an impatient jerk, his hand pushed between their bodies, pushing the sporran aside so that he could grind his erection into her instead. Through the thickness of his kilt, she could feel it already hard and thick. Desire flooded her, soaking her jeans. Her pussy pulsed with need. This can’t be happening…how can I want him so much so quickly?

Changing the angle of his mouth, he deepened the kiss even further. One questing hand found her breast, cupping and caressing, his thumb flickering back and forth across her rigid nipple, making her moan into his mouth. She pressed forward into the delicious hardness of his cock and obligingly he rubbed it against her. She wanted it inside her, pushing, thrusting. She wanted him naked, to feel his skin, every inch of the hard body pressed so beguilingly against her now.

At last, as if it were a supreme effort, he dragged his mouth free. “Tell me now,” he whispered, touching his forehead to hers. “Tell me quickly… ‘Sod off, John Maxwell, you’re nothing but trouble.’ Kate…”

His mouth found hers again, brushing back and forwards across her lips as reality flooded back, bringing shame and guilt and a pain so sharp it made her gasp aloud. She grasped his head between her hands to stop his devastating mouth.

“Johnny… I… Johnny, I’m not…”

Something bumped inside the room, crashing against the window frame at the same time. A body fell into the room, cursing in fluent Glaswegian.

Appalled, Addie watched over Johnny’s shoulder as Big Malky rose to his feet, shaking his shaggy head as if to clear it.

Johnny span round. “What the…?”

Malky blinked at the pair of them. “Aw right there, big man?” he said amiably to his host. “Happy New Year.”

Relationship Rescue has been the number one best seller in the Inspirational line at The Wild Rose Press since it released last month. Here's a sneak peak.

Two blind dates: one was stood up and the other one wishes she was. Have they both been set up in more ways than one?

After Mitchell Regan and Robynn Hartley broke off their engagement, they remained friends and continued attending the same church. They've attempted to keep their unhappiness a secret from each other and everyone else but they can't fool their close friends, Marina and Chad Anthony, who decide enough is enough. It's time for a Relationship Rescue.

Cindy K. Green has crafted a bittersweet story of failed love and second chances. Sometimes touching, sometimes funny, this short, sweet read will warm your heart. ~ Kara Lynn Russell, author of the Orchard Hill series of Inspirational romances.

Excerpt:

“You know, Robynn, I think we’ve been set-up.”

“Set-up? Yes, I was set-up. It was a blind date, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why Marina and Chad thought I would have gotten along with Norman Clark.”

“That’s my point. Marina and Chad set me up on a blind date that never showed. You had the date from a sitcom episode.”

Robynn sat up straight. “We were set-up!”

Mitch glanced at the counter again. Robynn turned around to look as well, her face close to his, sending his pulse racing. As he glanced down, she turned her eyes up to him and they locked onto each other. The pull to kiss her here and now was intense. “Robynn, I think they were hoping we might bump into each other tonight and talk just like we have.”

Realization entered her eyes. She began to nod her head as she spoke. “I know Marina was terribly disappointed when we didn’t get married.” She swallowed hard on the last word, her eyes glistening again.

“I think there were several people disappointed about that but maybe we don’t have disappoint them tonight.”

“What do you mean?” A stony expression entered her hooded eyes as she deeply assessed him. She didn’t trust him any further than she could throw him and he couldn’t blame her.

After taking her hand firmly into his, they sat back into the couch. It seemed like an eternity since he’d held her hand so intimately. It gave him the courage to go on. “Come take a walk with me…

The following is an excerpt from Brain Dead, by Tracey H. Kitts, available now from New Concepts Publishing.

She sighed and breathed in his cologne.

“From the moment you touched my hand last night you ceased to frighten me. I know this sounds crazy but I feel like I know you. You tell me now, Luis. Do you plan to hurt me? Am I wrong to trust you?”

“No,” he whispered.

“Then I am not naive.”

Luis bent to kiss her and she hesitated. Since the first time he’d smiled at her Jane had thought of little else besides how his sultry lips would feel pressed against her own, but there was something she wanted to make clear first.

“Do not lose faith in all mankind, chéri over one who is less than a man,” he breathed against her lips.

Since Jane had never known another vampire, she’d never kissed one either and was not prepared for the sensation. His lips were soft and full. At first he kissed her tenderly, allowing her time to adjust to the almost hypnotic sensation of his touch. As Luis deepened the kiss Jane moaned, running her hands inside his coat. His shirt was silk and felt wonderful underneath her hands as she ran them up and down his back, savoring the feel of his body beneath the smooth fabric. It was almost like falling, without hitting the ground.

Jane ran her tongue across his teeth and felt his fangs before pulling away breathlessly.

“Is it always like that?” she asked.

“No,” he gasped. “It is always different with a vampire, but you too are a supernatural being.”

“So, that makes a difference?” she asked, placing a hand over her heart as if that motion would slow its pace.

“Oh, yes.”

“Wow.”

Luis had been propped against the chair since she released him and now stood and began to straighten his clothes. His hands trembled and Jane smiled.

“Is every woman capable of making a vampire tremble, or do I flatter myself to think that I’m special?” she teased silkily.

On Halloween night, Brad settles down to repot his Bonsai tree. After an argument with his girlfriend, he needs someone to talk to. He's not expecting the tree to talk back.

Surprise! Deidre’s cursed inside his bonsai tree. She's been curled up watching him for years. This conversation's the first she's had in centuries.

Brad tries to set her free, but at the end of the night, he loses the ability to hear the woman with the sexy brogue. He vows he'll do what it takes to get her out, wanting to know the woman behind the voice. He even has erotic dreams about the woman she might be, for the five long years he searches for the saving spell.

Deidre hates men. All of them. Or does she? Brad's such an earnest hunk, so determined to do right by her. Maybe they have some redeeming qualities - like a sexy, muscular chest.

On the sixth Halloween, a woman from Brad's life turns Deidre's world upside down. Literally. That's not a good thing for a potted tree. Now she's getting a choice: a life with Brad without her magic or back to the trees, but she can work her curses and take her revenge. What will she choose this sixth cursed Halloween?

+++++++++++Stuck into a tree owned by a man. Adam must be laughing his ass off.

Trapped. She’d been trapped for the past sixteen years in the fucking tree. And it showed no signs of dying.

Because Brad took such good care of the little plant.

He went about getting out some little strips. Then he scooped out soil with a small spoon and put in a test tube.

“What are you doing?”

“Testing the pH of the soil.”

“You are such a geek.” Amanda held her nose haughtily in the air. “I don’t know why I put up with you.”

I don’t know why he puts up with you either. Deidre gasped at the thought. Was she taking Brad’s side over Amanda’s? Men were the scum of the earth. They were dogs.

Only Brad wasn’t.

How many women had she seen use Brad? Cheat on him? Seemed like every girlfriend he got did something that made Deidre cringe. It had been that way since high school.

Weren’t men supposed to be the ones doing the shitty things?

And Deidre wasn’t even punishing Brad. She couldn’t. Couldn’t let out one single curse to make him suffer.

The women were doing it to him all on their own. Something that should have made her happy, but she found herself discouraged by the actions of the fairer sex that were never fair.

Not that he seemed to suffer too much from what they’d done. His favorite emotion toward the women he dated seemed to be aggravation. He wasn’t a pushover. Had balls and wasn’t afraid to use them. Like now.

Case in point.

“I don’t know why I put up with you either. In fact…” Brad pointed with a hand. “Leave your key on the table. And don’t let the door hit you in the ass.”

He’d put up with the women he dated for a while. God knew why because Deidre didn’t. Unless it was the sex. He did like to have sex. Often. When he didn’t, well, he wasn’t afraid to use his hand. But, eventually something would happen in his relationships done by the women, and he’d kick them to the curb.

“You…asshole. You aren’t serious.”

“Go to the party. Screw ’em all.” His mouth twisted into a grimace. “Like being with me would stop you from that.”

She let out another of those high-pitched noises that set Deidre’s teeth on edge. “You are going to regret this. I’ll walk out and never look back.”

“Leave your key.” He studied the pH strip he’d taken.

She stormed out the house, slamming the door and knocking a picture off the wall, shattering the frame. It had been hung by a previous girlfriend.

“Never did like that picture.” He walked over and cleaned up the glass, sticking the whole thing in the trash can. He sighed, finishing his attention to the bonsai by watering it deeply and thoroughly.

Then, he popped open a beer and sat beside the pot in a dining room chair. “What’s wrong with me?”

Deidre could offer a litany of things that were wrong with him. Too bad he’d never hear her.

“I don’t feel anything. My girlfriend walks out and I feel nothing.” He downed a sip. “A girlfriend who wanted to do every man with a pulse. Which again, didn’t bother me. I wasn’t even jealous. It’s like…I’m dead inside.”

“You ought to try being a tree.” How many times had she died now? And living this way was no better than dying and starting over. She’d never get big enough to get out. She’d be trapped inside this one tree until Brad died, more than likely. The care he took was methodical and invasive. He’d never let this plant perish.

“A tree would be better than what I’m doing now.” He leaned back in his chair, resting his head on the top.

“Yeah, well, trade places with me.”

“I would. Only who’d take care of me?” He lifted his drink again.

Deidre straightened up in the pot at his offhand comments. They were almost as if they were in response to what she’d said. But that was impossible. Her feelers went out. Searched the apartment and Brad. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. This couldn’t be happening. She had to test it out. “Elephants are pinky and blue.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute.

She relaxed. She’d been imagining things. Had to have been. There was no way that Brad could hear what she was saying.

“Last time I checked, elephants were gray, not pinky and blue. What kind of a color is pinky? I don’t even remember Amanda mentioning that one.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “Where did that come from?” He took another long draft from his beer. “How to know when you’ve finally lost it? When you talk to your bonsai tree and imagine it’s talking back.”

Her feelers went straight again.

It was true.

Brad could somehow hear her thoughts. How on fucking earth could this be?

Readers, need a get away? Get Cosmic and take a futuristic fun ride to Kara Griffin's zany worlds. If you like Austin Powers or Flash Gordon, you'll love the Cosmic series at Aspen Mountain Press!

Cosmic Hearts

Blurb: In order to save his planet’s people, Chance must gain the help of Vestalumbria’s princess. He proposes an offer she can’t refuse—a chance to unite with a king. But refuse she does. Valeen wants to help Chance, but she has her own problems—she must find out the truth—why males are forbidden on her planet.

As Valeen learns the secrets hidden from her by her dictator of a mother, she has to rely on the handsome king to aid her, especially when she’s abducted by planetary pirates. Her heart begins falling for handsome king, but she’s not sure their people can live together in harmony. Can the two of them co-exist and unite their Cosmic Hearts?

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc0zv6hoifU

Excerpt:

Valeen didn’t know why, but when he touched the small of her back, she felt a charge bolt through her body as if her circuits went through a field of meteors. Stars, he was brazen, and must be unfamiliar with the laws of her planet. She wasn’t very knowledgeable of males, because they hadn’t lived on her planet for years, but she’d heard about them from some of the women she knew.

She hadn’t come this close to a male since she’d been very young. Then, her only interest had been in having playmates, but now her interest went beyond playing games. Well, maybe playing games, but not the kind she’d played when she was younger.

Usually when she visited beverage stations or commodity bases, where she went shopping for attire, she didn’t allow males near her, nor did her guards. But this attractive man couldn’t be overlooked; she didn’t mind his closeness at all. In fact, she wanted him to touch her some more. Maybe even kiss her, and perhaps press his hard-looking body against hers.

What in the name of all the planets was she thinking?

“Valeen, such a lovely name for a beautiful woman.”

He seemed to cringe and made a discouraged face. Had he considered the comment ridiculous? Shifting again, he appeared to relax.

“Ahhh, so, Chance from a close-enough galaxy…” She touched his chest lightly. “You are a flatterer and a charmer.”

Her fingertips trailed down the zipper on the front of his shirt in a flirtatious move. Valeen had never done anything so outrageous or impulsive before in her entire life. She smiled at the thought that she was flirting with him.

Venus, Mercury, and Mars.

It was a ballsy thing to do, and not her usual reaction.

“Only if it gets me a kiss.”

There it is, an offer that you can’t pass up or refuse.

“You wish to kiss me?” she said breathlessly.

“Only if you wish to be kissed.”

She noticed him grimace at his absurd statement. Laughter bubbled inside her. She hoped he would use his mouth in a way that wouldn’t cause him jeopardy. Or maybe it would? Maybe it would cause them both jeopardy.

Valeen watched his hand move higher on her waist, just under the firmness of her breast. The fabric of her catsuit stood in the way of feeling his skin touching hers. Reflections of the various lighting in the dark beverage station moved across his fingers.

Her laughter rose in a nervous giggle. She had never met anyone like him, but she liked his amusing remarks. She tilted her head to look at the light-colored wisps of hair over his forehead. The urge to brush her fingers through his hair suddenly hit her. His locks shimmered in the electronic atmosphere of the bright light beams. She swayed purposely toward him, hoping he would put his arms around her.

Valeen was in the perfect position, and she didn’t want it to slip by without his taking advantage of it. This solar-night, she would be embedded in his memory, never to be forgotten, and now all she had to do was make sure of it.

Would he kiss me already?

End Excerpt.

Buy the book at: http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-releases/cosmic-hearts/prod_125.HTML

Cosmic Hearts Book Review: "Kara Griffin joins two very independent characters together and gleefully burns the pages with their heated encounters. Add in a male obsessed PAM, Valeen's Personal Attendant Moderator, Jack's horny brother, four nubile guards, a scattering of nefarious kidnappers and you have enough spice in the book to zest up your reading enjoyment. Definitely a book to help while away the weekend blues!" JT, Romance Junkies, 4 blue ribbons.

(Thank you RJ and JT! For reviewing my book!)

Coming soon to AMP!

Cosmic Chemistry (blurb) Jack rarely shows his vulnerable side to women, but when he meets the sexy physexian Ginger Graham, he knows his heart will never be the same. Jack and Ginger have Chemistry, but will it be enough to satisfy their desires?

Cosmic Chaos (blurb) Vance wants nothing but to hide away in his lab, but fate intervenes when the one woman who stirs his heart crashes into him. The CHAOS begins when Kullan on the run from two goons falls in the arms of her longtime crush.

~Kara Griffin

Visit the Get Cosmic blog for behind the scenes info and fun.

Get Cosmic!http://www.karagriffin.webs.com/ http://getcosmic.blogspot.com/

It's finally here! I'm really jazzed about this one. The first in a series of three m/m novellas based on Bruce Springsteen titles. Check it out!

Book One in the Phaze Rocks: Streets of Fire series:

Detective Nick D'Amato has always been content with his lack-of-commitment love life. For a gay cop in the don't ask-don't tell N.Y.P.D., free and easy always seemed the least complicated route.

William, the new man in his life, has Nick rethinking his priorities. Will's perspective on life and love is different than anything Nick has ever encountered, making him that much more desirable.

The two men are compatible in every way except one, and it's a huge divisor. Both are stubborn, neither willing to compromise, until a serial slasher enters their lives. A growing stack of dead bodies has the police running in circles, sending Nick and Will into a nightmare that could change their lives forever. (m/m contemporary erotic romance)

From today to October 31st, spend $5 and receive 20% off your purchase. Just copy and paste this code: 20percent. Spend $10 and receive 25% off your purchase with this coupon code: 25percent.--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Detective Jake Gilford is skeptical when he hears Joss Wheeler say she believes her newly inherited house is haunted. He's a man of facts and hard evidence, and ghosts aren't on his radar screen. He's also a man, and Joss is a beautiful, if somewhat nutty, woman. Won over by her charms, he promises to stay and help her unravel the mystery of the house--or whatever else she has that might need unraveling . . .

Dream by the Fire Anthology, including High Maintenance by Jamie Hill:

Deidre North is enjoying a ski vacation with her family after Christmas, when an accident sidelines her from the slopes with a cast on her leg. She's depressed about spending another New Year's Eve alone, until she meets the lodge's handsome maintenance man.

Rick Beaufort is good with his hands, but is he smooth enough to convince this high maintenance woman to take a chance on him?

Captain Ian Logan of Terra commands the most powerful starship ever built, the Rea Cheveyo. Adjutant Kiana ni Jamallan of Adonica is trying to escape the notice of her corrupt superiors. What she can’t escape is Ian’s notice. When an Adonican freighter goes missing and Kiana uses a mental ‘push’ to maneuver her way onto his ship, Ian seizes the opportunity to get closer to the lovely adjutant.

Unable to resist the advances of attractive, tempting - but human - Ian, Kiana risks the censure of her government. Enlisting Ian’s help to save a missing crew, she treads a dangerous path with the destiny she was born to fulfill on one side and Ian on the other. One misstep and she’ll lose both.

As their worlds collide, Kiana is forced to choose between fulfilling her destiny—or following her heart.

EXCERPT

Kiana dozed off, slowly, as her imagination let her sleep in Ian’s arms. A gentle touch on her hip woke her. She scrambled to sit up and blinked Ian into focus.

Ian touched her face. “You looked so peaceful. Perhaps I should not have disturbed you.”

“I’m glad thee did.”

“Why?”

“Don’t thee know, Ian Logan?”

His jaw worked. He looked away. When he spoke, his voice was low, and rough.

“What should I know, Kiana? That I’ve put you in an awkward position? That anything you do is used against your family? That us being alone together is reported back to your superiors?”

“Thee are a good man, that thee care about these things.” She laid her hand over his. “Do thee know more?” Kiana beat back the temptation to open herself up to her gifts and feel his emotions.

He looked at her, his gaze naked with desire. Her heart skipped a few beats, and then started to pound. Her stomach did a strange little flip, and the ache deep inside her flared back to life.

“I know I want you. And I know, for your sake, I can’t act on it.”

This man’s honor would keep him from her unless she said just the right words. A single tear slid down her cheek.

“I want thee, Ian Logan. I do not care the right or wrong of it. This one time, I want something for myself. Can thee understand?”

He swallowed hard. “I don’t want to hurt you, Kiana.”

“I know. It is my choice. I choose thee.” She slipped her arms around his neck and raised her lips to his.

Ian’s arms came around her and tightened. He pushed her down beneath him and claimed her mouth. She felt the breathy rumble in his chest as his lips moved on hers. His hand quickly found its way under the softness of the robe and cupped the roundness of her bare bottom. She gasped in surprise, arching to him. His strong fingers caressed lightly down the back of her thigh and brushed across moist, tingling flesh. She tried to open herself more to him, but his body and her gown pinned her. She made a frustrated noise, and he pulled away.

Very slowly, almost reverently, he pulled the trapped fabric from beneath him and slid it up her legs as she watched. It pooled in small ripples, covering her pelvis. The cool air brushed her limbs. Ian bent and kissed the inside of one quivering thigh. The breath clogged in her throat.

He inhaled sharply. She knew he’d caught the scent of her arousal. He slipped his hand under the fabric, resting it in the soft valley where her leg joined her body. Kiana’s hips jerked up to him. The robe freed, he slowly stretched out beside her, settling them into a tangle of arms and legs.

Kiana tugged on his shirt, freeing it from his trousers. She slipped her hand beneath it and caressed Ian’s warm skin. Small ridges of muscle covered his ribs, and she lightly traced them with one finger. Gooseflesh rose in her wake.He took her hand and guided it to the bulge of his erection. He opened the snap of his pants with quick fingers, an unspoken request, and permission, for her to touch him as she wished.

Her inner flesh clenched. The tingling gave way to an insistent throbbing, a drumbeat pulse at her core that filled her with a desperate need. She moved her hand across the bulge, learning his shape. Would he hear her if she sent the thought to him?

The female's scent is highly arousing, even to a cougar closely mated to his male partner. But Kai is no ordinary cougar. He's a changeling, sometimes a highly sexed human, and sometimes an even friskier cat. He mounts the seductive Sable, unaware of her mission and exactly what he's preparing to lose.

The talisman amulet has kept the cougar clan at peace for generations. When it's stolen Kai and his mate, the handsome Aric, set out on a journey to recover it. Meeting treachery and deception at every turn, the duo are forced to battle not only for the peace of the cougar clans, but for their very survival, and the life of their newfound love, Sable. (m/m, m/m/f menage, contemporary erotic romance)

Excerpt:Chapter One

Nuzzling her long, slender neck, Kai inhaled the scent he’d followed ever since entering the clan cave—the sweet, musky, deeply disturbing and arousing smell of female. He licked the nape of her neck, unable to resist the temptation. His thoughts raced. Who was this gorgeous creature? Why hadn’t he noticed her before? How fast could he get her to his bed of lush furs? The warmth of the talisman on his chest seemed strange, out of place in this rutting, and he pushed the warning aside. Lost in a sea of lust, he wanted her, needed her more than he remembered ever needing a female before, and that too was strange.

“Mm, I like that,” she murmured, thrusting her pelvis more firmly against his thigh.

Kai reached around her, sliding his hands down over the firm swell of her arse. He was hard, painfully so, and ached to get her alone where he could hopefully take advantage of her lusty behaviour and his throbbing cock. Nipping at her neck, he tightened his grip on her arse and lifted her smaller frame off the floor. Staggering a step, he steadied himself and took the half dozen paces to his private chamber. Inside, free from prying eyes, he lowered her onto the soft pile of hides strewn across the dim corner.

“A gorgeous creature like you should be cherished,” he whispered huskily. “I can think of many things you might like. Perhaps you’ll tell me what pleasures you most.” Tearing at his vest, he tossed it aside and quickly unfastened the belt and buttons holding up his pants. It was only when he tried to kick them off that he realised he’d neglected to remove his soft-soled boots, and he dropped to the bed. He worked them off and was naked but for the leather thong around his neck.

She tossed her long dark hair over her shoulders and smiled down at him, a touch of wistfulness in her eyes. “Anything you want to do will be perfect, Kai.”

A tingle of excitement surged through him. Again, the amulet brushed against his chest, the heat of it nudging his thoughts. He ignored it and the gentle warning it gave. He looked up at the female, who seemed to know him and had somehow lured him to his own den. She was tall, he knew, because she more than reached his collar bone, and he was well over six feet. Her luscious curves filled out the pale green singlet to the bursting point. She’d unfastened several buttons at the top, allowing an ample portion of her plump breasts to thrust into the air. Her waist was slim, her hips more than a handful. On her feet, she had on the standard soft-soled boots all of the tribe wore.

He’d never seen such a vision of feminine beauty before. Despite the air of sophistication she seemed so determined to display, he sensed a vulnerability in her that pulled at his heart. Besides lust in her sparkling black eyes, he also saw a hint of apprehension. Fear?

He was the clan leader, the dominant male in a family of twenty or so, as well as the leader of the entire cougar tribe. She wasn’t from his group. He’d never seen her before and he was dead sure he’d have remembered if he had. Kai worked hard at being a kind and fair ruler, not one who inspired fright. The only thing she had to be frightened of, at that moment, was the depth of his passion.

Holding his hand up to her, he whispered, “Come here, my beautiful one. You have nothing to fear from me, ever, I promise.”

Dark eyes flashed at him. She licked her lips and he saw the gleam of her teeth. “You want me now, like this? Or would you prefer me naked?”

“Naked.” He lowered his hand to his cock. Blood pounded in his veins. He watched her reach for the buttons and much too slowly push the tiny beads through their corresponding holes. One, two, three, and he glanced down to see how many more she had to do. Too many. He growled deep in his throat.

“Shh,” she hissed, which dragged his eyes from her belly to her face.

“Damn,” he muttered, and languidly stroked his erection from the tip down to the base. Cupping his balls, he groaned, his need soaring. The soft hair tickled his palm. The shaft of his cock pulsed, slapping the crown against his belly.

He wanted to come. Mind-blowing climaxes provided welcome relief from his daily responsibilities. Leading his clan and tribe was a duty he never took lightly and wouldn’t give up for anything in the world. But, the obligation weighed heavily on him. At times, it was pure joy to relax and put everything out of his mind except giving pleasure to someone else.

He could get lost in the eyes of this female. Nagging questions crept into his mind. Who is she? Where did she come from? Possibly the most urgent, How long is it going to take her to remove that blasted outfit?

New release coming Friday, October 17 from Changeling Press -- a fun and ultra-sexy Halloween romp by K. Z. Snow! (Excerpt is rated PG-13 for language.)

* * * * *

Often, breaking up with a boyfriend is a blessing in disguise. Sometimes, being stuck with crazy relatives is the same thing.

Hannah Blue didn’t think so after she made an ill-advised bet with her Aunt Kate, a bawdy old hippie and self-styled witch. A little too much wine had made Hannah cocky enough to think she could get laid by November 1 and, in so doing, become a hundred dollars richer. But it isn’t happening that way; Hannah’s picky about men.

As the bet’s deadline draws near, Aunt Kate decides to give her niece a little behind-the-scenes help. She wants Hannah to have a restorative roll in the hay and win that C-note.

Even a weird and wild Halloween swingers’ party doesn’t bring a man Hannah’s way. Horny and glum, she decides to boost her spirits by strolling down the streets of her neighborhood and enjoying Trick-or-Treat night. She eventually tags along with a trio of unescorted kids. It’s a pleasant, innocent diversion that helps Hannah resign herself to being a loser.

Until, at one house, a man in a vampire cape comes flying out the door. He proves the most delectable piece of candy—and the best way to win a bet—Hannah could ever have imagined.

* * * * *

They’d covered maybe three blocks, zigzagging from one side of the street to another, when they approached a small, red-brick bungalow. Emily charged up the porch steps with her usual enthusiasm, crying "Trick or treat!" all the way.

Hannah and the boys joined her . . . just as Hannah began to wonder why this place looked familiar. The door abruptly opened. But no smiling matron holding a candy basket appeared there. Instead, a large, dark mass flew out of the house like an attacking phantom. A clumsy attacking phantom. Emily squealed. Startled, they all scrambled backward down the steps and withdrew to the railings.

The dark form was a man. A man in an opera cape—black on the outside, red on the inside—with a deeply scalloped, upturned collar and a bat attached by a spring to one shoulder. The cape was skewed off to one side, the bat bobbing and weaving like Muhammad Ali.

Hannah’s breath seemed to snag on her ribcage. That was why the house looked familiar! Teetering before her was the man she’d seen earlier, the one getting out of the truck. As she’d tagged along with the kids, she’d unwittingly come down the same street. But what was going on?

When the man regained his footing, he straightened his garment, swiped both palms over his hair, and faced the four people on the porch steps. "Uh . . . boo."

What the hell? Mouth open, she continued to stare. Beneath his cape the man wore only the skimpiest red briefs. A green glow came from his mouth. What the hell?"Were you s’posed to scare us?" Emily asked. "Do you live here?"

The man looked embarrassed. "No."

"What didja do?" Emily asked him. "Are you a robber? Didja get caught? Is that why they threw you out?"

The man cleared his throat. "That’s one way of putting it."

"So what are you hiding in your mouth? You better give it back."

"I’m not hiding anything. Those are my teeth." He bared his glow-in-the-dark, fanged plastic uppers. "I’m a vampire."

Hannah snorted a poorly suppressed laugh. She curled a hand over her mouth and looked down.

"Hey," Grif said, pointing at him, "your bat’s starting to droop."

"That’s not all." The man slid a glance at Hannah, who just at that moment happened to be sliding a glance at his—droop or no droop—well filled-out scarlet briefs. Self-consciously, he pulled the cape closed around his midsection.

Now that Hannah was gathering her wits, she couldn’t help but notice other things, as well. The man was extremely attractive, even more so than her first glimpse of him had suggested. She couldn’t see his face very clearly, but his tall frame sported a trim, hard-muscled physique. Although his thick, dark hair was trained to sweep neatly away from his face at the front and sides, the back was a riot of rebellious, clipped curls, some of which disappeared within his collar.

"Shoes or no shoes, I better get out of here," he murmured, and began descending the steps. When he was alongside Hannah, he paused. "I’m really sorry."

He wasn’t just attractive, he was breathtaking. "No harm done." The sight of him, and the fragrant nearness of him, rekindled the arousal that had tormented her at the party. She could feel the heat wavering from his body like a sexual lure.

The man suddenly broke their eye contact—a minor blessing, since it was making Hannah’s knees weak. Frowning, he looked down and patted his cape. He pulled it to one side and groped at the lining. "My keys," he whispered.

Turning abruptly, Zacula charged back toward the front door. Before he reached it, two shoes somersaulted through the air, nearly bonking him in the head. He managed to duck just in time. The shoes clattered against the porch railing and landed with twin thuds on the wood floor.

Glaring at the house, Zacula muttered, "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck," as he retrieved his shoes and hopped around to get them on. He stomped down the steps to the sidewalk, where the four trick-or-treaters now stood because they didn’t know what would next fly out of the house. Hand to forehead, Zacula looked indecisively at nothing.

Without thinking, Hannah walked up to him and touched his arm. Electricity seemed to shiver through her stomach. "Are you all right?"

It was a few seconds before he looked at her. He was obviously preoccupied. "Zack." He gave her a wan smile. "Yes, that really is my name." He extended his hand. "Zachary Evan Whitmore."

Once Hannah grasped it she was loath to let go. "I’m Hannah Blue. Can I help you in any way?" It was obvious he had some kind of mess on his hands.

"I don’t want to get anybody else involved in this."

"I don’t mind. Really."

He was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. The more Hannah studied his face, the more captivated she became. And his mouth . . . damn, it looked so inviting. Not a vampire’s mouth at all. At least, not based on the movies she’d seen. She still, however, couldn’t discern the color of his bright eyes.

Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "My biggest problem at the moment is that my truck keys are in there." He nodded toward the house. "And I’m out here."

"I assume it wouldn’t be wise for you to go to the door and ask for them."

Lifting his eyebrows, Zack gave her a look that said, What do you think? Nevertheless, he risked mounting three of the porch steps and shouting, "Give me my god— Give me my goldang keys!"

The door swung open, a bulky form appeared, and a set of keys went sailing into a dense tangle of surrounding shrubbery.

"Fuck!" Zack charged up the porch once more. He strode to the railing and peered over it. Groaning, he despondently came back down to the sidewalk.

Casting Hannah a glance, he mumbled, "Your wig’s slipping." He idly lifted a few fallen strands of hair, letting them drape over his fingers.

"It isn’t a wig." Hannah poked at her tumbling coiffure, dimly wondering how a touch to her hair could send frissons slithering through her limbs. "Your teeth are slipping, too."

Zack pulled them out and chucked them aside.

She didn’t know what was going on, but she had to help him. She wanted to help him. He didn’t seem like a creep, and it wasn’t often she had the opportunity to rescue an enticing man in distress. In fact, she’d never had the opportunity.

"Listen," she said, "let me try something. You stay here."

Before Zack could object, Hannah remounted the steps and rang the doorbell. It opened with such ferocity she took a couple of startled steps back. A very large, very pumped-up man with a pale flat-top glowered down at her.

"Sir," Hannah began, trying to be both polite and firm, "I need to borrow a flashlight. You threw the truck keys into the—"

He snarled out an answer and slammed the door.

Sighing, Hannah rejoined Zack on the sidewalk. She lowered her voice when she conveyed the message. "He isn’t being very cooperative. He said, ‘Let the prick bounce home on his pogo stick.’"

Zack’s handsome face twisted in anger. "Son of a bitch."

Emily piped up, "You really need to clean up your language." The kids, still clustered together a short distance away, had been observing these goings-on with interest.

Zack glanced at them. "I’ll work on that when I get home. After I drive there in my truck. Which I must start with my frickin’ key!"

"Uh, Emily, you and Jeremy and Grif should head home now, too," Hannah said. "It’s getting late and you have plenty of candy. Thanks so much for inviting me along." She waved to underscore the send-off. "Maybe I’ll see you around."

Maggie Myers returns home to rebuild her life and to escape her stalking ex-husband. To local small town sheriff Matt Dillon she's more trouble than he needs. But the lady has enough sass and curves to tempt a saint. Well, he never claimed to be a saint, and Maggie is about to find out she's been teasing the wrong man.

EXCERPT -

He threatened more than her peace of mind. Maggie was feeling things she hadn’t felt in a long time, yearnings long buried. She wanted to get closer to Matt if that were possible. Her fingers began to twitch beneath his hand, her palm smoothing against his flesh in an innocent caress. She shifted her leg cautiously, catching his indrawn hiss when her flesh glided across his penis.

She wanted to feel more of him, so much more. Fire erupted inside her. She broke free of his gentle restraint and let the caress take her where it would, where he would let it. Knowing she would only get singed if he didn’t feel the same way.

In a lightning fast move Matt surprised her by grabbing her wrist and flipping her over. He moved over her body, pinning her on the bed. She gasped with surprise, powerless to move against the steely fingers encircling her wrist. The blood coursed through her veins like a spinning tidal pool, leaving her breathless at the intensity. Their eyes locked, their breaths becoming one. His expression was fierce, his eyes blazing down at her. He looked savage, like a hungry animal close to the end of his control.

“Do you know what you’re inviting?” His voice was hoarse with obvious need, almost angry. His nostrils flared with every breath he took. His gaze dropped to her lips, and Maggie parted them, running her tongue over them in anticipation of his kiss. “I wont be gentle, Maggie. I haven’t been with a woman in a long time.” It came out like a threat. Did he want to hear her say no? His gaze lowered to her breasts, and then before she could grasp his intentions his mouth was there, loving her through the thin satin of her gown.

His hands glided down her sides to her hips, then around to her bottom. Fingers sank deeply into the soft mounds before he pulled her tightly against him and ground his erection against her. Maggie moaned with growing hunger, the tingle becoming a pulsing throb of desire.

“Can you take it rough?”

His comment inflamed Maggie. She made an attempt to respond, but the only sound that came out was a pitiful whimper. She wanted him to kiss her, wanted to feel that firm, masculine mouth on hers as he devoured her lips. But she sensed he was using every ounce of strength he possessed to hold on to his control. There was no disguising the state of arousal he was in. Could she push him over the edge?

Lies and secrets have a way of returning to bite a girl in the butt...

Hayley Williams thought she was past the screwing-up stage of her life. These days, she wears her good girl persona well--except when she moonlights as a gypsy tea leaf reader in order to earn money to buy her own home. There's something about Sam Norville, though, that prods her inner imp back to life. A chance meeting, a margarita...okay, two...a stolen kiss, and suddenly she's back in hot water.

Sam, a successful businessman, doesn't believe in love at first sight. Not anymore. For him, involvement with any woman means risking a run-in with the tabloid press. But his mysterious gypsy lover keeps him coming back, keeps him prodding her for more...like the truth. Of course it's not love. No, sir. Sam only does lust.

Hayley knows she shouldn't want Sam, especially since she lied to him. The right thing to do? Shove that naughty imp off her shoulder and come clean. But the pesky imp just won't budge...

Warning: There be lies and secrets ahead, wrapped in pretty bows with margaritas, a one-night stand, fortune telling and a gypsy. Oh, and tea. Lots and lots of pots of tea.

The scent of a female is a powerful thing. Kai, leader of the cougar clan finds that out the hard way, much to his distress. Can he and his life mate, Aric, find the stolen talisman before it's too late?

The female's scent is highly arousing, even to a cougar closely mated to his male partner. But Kai is no ordinary cougar. He's a changeling, sometimes a highly sexed human, and sometimes an even friskier cat. He mounts the seductive Sable, unaware of her mission and exactly what he's preparing to lose.

The talisman amulet has kept the cougar clan at peace for generations. When it's stolen Kai and his mate, the handsome Aric, set out on a journey to recover it. Meeting treachery and deception at every turn, the duo are forced to battle not only for the peace of the cougar clans, but for their very survival, and the life of their newfound love, Sable.

From the moment I saw an article in the New Zealand Herald about sightings of a mystery black cat in Canterbury, South Island, I knew it would make a good story. I cut out the article and kept it for about three years while I wrote about other things such as talking dogs, aliens and military men. It wasn’t until I saw a human interest story on our local television about a small South Island town called Middlemarch that I recalled the cat article. Evidently, the town of Middlemarch had a severe shortage of marriageable females and to help the young farmers and other men in the area find partners, the town intended to organize a dance.

The two ideas blended inside my head and a story bloomed about a community of leopard shifters who lived in Middlemarch and suffered from a shortage of women of marriageable age.

The first book in the series, SCARLET WOMAN, was one of the most difficult stories I’ve ever written. It started life as a short story. My editor liked it but thought there was too much story for the length I’d written. She suggested that I lengthen it, which I did, although my characters kicked up a fuss. So did my muse. I’m pleased I persevered because it’s now one of my favorite stories.

Last week I sent the seventh book in my Middlemarch Mates series to my editor. I’m not sure why I enjoy writing about feline shifters so much. Maybe it’s because my husband isn’t a cat fan, and I have to make up for it somehow! My cat of choice is the black leopard, although I have introduced a brother and sister in STRAY CAT STRUT who are lion shifters.

The books in the series to date are:

Scarlet Woman

Peeping Tom

Stray Cat Strut

Assassin

Cat and Mouse

Cat Burglar is out on 31 December from Ellora's Cave.

To read excerpts from the earlier Middlemarch books, visit my website and to learn about the real town of Middlemarch, where the dance takes place on a yearly basis because the first was so successful check out their website.

A woman is thrust into and left unaccompanied in a world far different from that to which she's accustomed. A hero is dealt two tasks -- cure a malady that current medical science cannot and gain the trust of a woman who's been repeatedly wronged by the man in whom she once placed the utmost faith

A froth of ruffles spilled down the doctor’s shirtfront. No doubt, from his change in demeanor, he found traipsing about the world in search of treasure a folly.

And who was she to disagree with such wisdom?

She’d come here to rid her body of its poison, not to discuss expeditions.

Eve swallowed past the grip in her throat and turned to Doctor Galletiére. “What is it you need to know?”

The doctor’s morose expression melted. Charles reached for her with his left hand, the palm facing upward and his arm bouncing as he weighed the thick air surrounding them. “When did you first notice the wound?”

A hundredweight held her tongue but a swallow loosened it. “Two days ago. A light red spot appeared on my lower leg. Since then the color has deepened and the area become quite tender.”

Charles’ hand lowered, gently brushing her hip. Despite the layers of material separating her flesh from his fingers an undeniable heat flared between them in that instant.

Heat, more intense than when she’d tipped her toe into the bathwater poured straight from their Boston servant Madeline’s kettle. She shifted position. The full skirt was all that separated her from his touch.

A skilled touch.

The touch of a man.

A man who provoked her body and mind more than any other she’d ever met.

Unseen fingers plucked below her belly while yet others pawed her will and poked her soul.

Hard to tell how but he seemed to know more about her than most. And he spoke the truth. She had served as a Christian influence and teacher for those poor bedeviled souls on the continent. Endured many sleepless nights. Touched herself in places most would consider forbidden. Wondered what other women of her age had experienced with men. Men like robust Charles Galletiére.

Charles nudged her foot with his.

A flame leaped from her belly and licked at her throat. A diviner of thoughts, no doubt. There were some in the jungles who claimed the same gift.

Their ceremonies were more about sending up smoke to the heavens and incessant prodding into personal matters of those who sought them than the usurpation of actual thoughts.

She’d never tasted a man’s kiss—unless she counted the embarrassing buss from her first cousin Frederick one summer long ago.

Charles laid his hand on her knee, his fingertips warming the silk of her most becoming traveling dress. “I really should examine her leg. But it would not do to display her so boldly. You gentlemen are welcome to stay a short while and enjoy a cup of tea or other repast. However I must tend to Eve before the hours progress. I’ll have her things brought inside.”

After being left standing at the altar, Rosalie Hopkins is just beginning to put her life back together. A mysterious phone call makes her realize she needs to find her ex-fiance in order to forget him. So she hires the oh-so-sexy private investigator, Tavon Williams to help her.

Tavon Williams was investigating Rosalie's ex-fiance. After tailing the man for months, Tavon discovered two things. One, the man was cheating on her. And two, Tavon was in love with Rosalie. So, when she hires him to solve her cold case, things really heat up!

Excerpt:

"So?"

Rosalie sipped her drink and pretended she hadn't heard. With an exasperated sigh, Cassie leaned forward in her chair and shouted to be heard over the noise of the crowd in Dino's, a local night spot. "Did you get the job?"

At five o'clock on Wednesday, hump day happy hour was in full swing. Halloween decorations announced the season. Bales of hay stood along one wall, displaying elaborately carved pumpkins, and in the center of the dance floor, the disco ball had been replaced by a large skull with glowing eyeballs. Local newscast commentary from the widescreen televisions perched over the bar vied with the strains of a local Salsa band playing a south of the border rendition of Monster Mash.

"As if you didn't know?" Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"I get postcards from dead people. I'm not psychic." Cassie waggled her eyebrows and repeated, "So?"

Rosalie grinned. The job interview for a position at the ticket counter of the local airport had gone stunningly. So well, in fact, that she started work the next morning. After months of scraping by on savings, it would be fabulous to have a steady paycheck again.

"I start tomorrow!" Rosalie did a little happy dance in her chair. She'd forgotten how much fun having drinks with her sister could be.

"Yippee!" Cassie lifted her margarita glass as if in a toast.

"Are congratulations in order?" Drew, Cassie's husband, asked as he slid into an empty seat.

"Rosalie got the job," Cassie said as she leaned in to kiss him.

They made such a cute couple. Tall, blond and buff, Drew wore his hair in a buzz cut and had started wearing black-framed glasses. Cassie called it his Clark Kent look; while Drew insisted he only wore the glasses to chase other women away. Just for a second, the pang of jealousy almost undid Rosalie. She averted her eyes and straightened the candle holder, a large plastic spider, in the middle of the table. Cassie and Drew looked so happy together. Without Kyle, they would never have met. Thinking about her ex-fiancé evaporated her good mood, but she fixed a smile on her face to help convince herself that she was so over him.

"Well, this calls for a celebration," Drew said. "How about I take the two prettiest women in San Josue, California, out to dinner?"

"On a reporter's budget?" Rosalie teased. "I'm not sure I want to eat at McDonald's tonight."

"Hey!" Drew's blue eyes lit up as he laughed. He stood up and pulled out his wallet to pay for their drinks.

"Good one, sis." Cassie tapped Rosalie's glass with her own. "It's been a while since you…"

"Yeah, I know," Rosalie cut in. "But get used to it, I'm back." She hoped her voice and body language spoke with more confidence than she felt.

As they stood, Cassie put her arm around Rosalie's shoulders and gave her a brief squeeze before following Drew through the crush of bodies. Rosalie had almost forgotten how crowded Dino's could get on a Wednesday when they served bottles of various beers in a bucket. Tables were in short supply, and quite a crowd had gathered around the bar. A smattering of couples gyrated on the dance floor while the band played Thriller, salsa style. She glanced around. No one even looked her way, not like they used to when she stood beside…

No, she was not going to dwell on the past tonight. She wasn't going to let the bastard spoil any more of her life. Then, as she started forward, she saw him–a tall, black man standing at the bar. He towered head and shoulders above everyone else and had on a local team's football jersey.

Without thinking, she turned and strode in his direction. What would she say? Confront him? Ask him why he'd left her standing at the altar and then just disappeared? Despite her thoughts, anger carried her forward. Then, he turned and her footsteps faltered. The man in front of her was only a young college kid. It wasn't him–it wasn't Kyle.

Without breaking her stride, she turned and headed blindly toward the door. She collided with a hard body and was enveloped by warmth and the scent of expensive cologne.

"Whoa!" a deep voice said.

Rosalie looked up through tear-filled eyes.

"Hey, aren't you Kyle's wife?" the man asked.

"Um, no." Heat seeped up her neck and into her face. "We didn't…I mean…well…" she stammered. Jesus, she sounded half-witted. Why hadn't she just said yes and moved on?

"You know, I saw him that day." The man's soft hazel eyes, framed by impossibly long curly lashes, bored into hers.

"What?"

"Yeah, he lived on Stetson Drive, right? Well, I'm a huge fan of his and just as I drove by the house, he came out the front door. I stopped, but by the time I pulled over to the curb, he was already in the car and pulling out."

Rosalie blinked, trying desperately to come to grips with the information. Right after Kyle's disappearance, there had been hundreds of leads, most of them from crackpots angling for a few moments of fame. But this man's story seemed plausible. After Kyle's knee injury had sidelined his basketball career, he'd become a popular sports commentator; people frequently stopped him on the street to say hello.

And the man standing in front of her certainly didn't look like a crackpot. Skin the color of café au lait, he wore his black hair short and his face clean-shaven. His dark slacks, white oxford shirt, and sports jacket all looked neat and orderly.

But then, most serial killers probably looked like someone's next door neighbor, too.

However, she certainly hoped serial killers didn't elicit the response from his victims that this man incited in her. For the first time since Kyle's disappearance, her heart beat faster, and a slow burning heat coiled low in her belly. She was disconcerted to feel this level of attraction for a stranger, no matter how gorgeous he was. Perhaps her body was finally waking up and taking notice of men–men who weren't Kyle.

Although she would have liked to indulge in a carnal fantasy, one with her naked and wanton in the stranger's arms, she directed her attention back to the conversation. No one had told her there were any witnesses to Kyle's departure. "Did you tell the police?"

"Oh, yeah, I told that horrible detective Manny what's-his-name." The man shrugged. "However, he didn't seem to think much of it. I called a couple of times to see if he'd discovered anything, but he never called me back."

Typical. Rosalie knew what it felt like to receive a brush-off from the officer. "Well, thank you for letting me know." Rosalie tried to smile and hoped it looked more pleasant than a grimace.

"Sure. It was nice meeting you…" the man trailed off and held out his hand for her to shake.

"Rosalie Hopkins."

"I'm Tavon Michaels."

The name struck a familiar chord, but she couldn't remember where or when she'd heard it before. She took his hand and felt a zing of desire with his touch. Even though she'd just met this man, her hormones screamed for her to pull him closer so that she could feel the heat of his body warm hers. Her nipples hardened and pressed against the fabric of her blouse as she looked up into Tavon's eyes.

What would Kyle think?

The thought came unbidden, and it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. Pulling her libido into check, she said a hasty good-bye, turned away, and tried to make an unobtrusive exit.

When she careened into her sister, she realized tears were pouring down her face.

"What?" Cassie gasped. Then, in the intuitive way sisters have, Cassie stood on tiptoe and scanned the crowd. She, too, must have spotted the tall man at the bar, for she exclaimed, "Oh my God, is that Kyle?" She pulled away from Rosalie, heading in the man's direction.

"It's not him. Cassie!" Rosalie called after her sister's retreating back.

Cassie turned around. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Rosalie took a shuddering breath. "Let's just get out of here."

"Do you want to go home?" Cassie asked.

Oh, did she! Rosalie wanted to do nothing more than to curl up on the couch, wrap herself in an afghan, and cry. But she'd spent far too much of the last three months doing that. She shook her head. "No, I want tabloid-boy to buy me dinner."

"That's my girl." The words were whispered in an oh-so-familiar voice. Rosalie started and looked around; goose pimples danced up her arms. Kyle?

"Did you hear that?" she asked Cassie.

But her sister was already headed for the white truck illegally parked at the curb. Rosalie trailed along behind her, casting a glance over her shoulder. It simply had to have been her imagination.

Original Sin is the fourth book in the Lilith Mercury: Werewolf Hunter Series by Tracey H. Kitts, Coming this December from New Concepts Publishing.

Dracula, who was still standing beside me with his hand on my lower back, began to explain. “Bade works for me.” I looked a question at him and he continued, “Part time anyway.”

“What does he do exactly?” I asked.

“I’m the on the menu,” Bade replied. “For the vampires at least,” he said quickly after the look I gave him. “You see, I like to be bitten, and alpha werewolf is quite the delicacy.”

“You’re on the menu?” I repeated sarcastically.

“That’s right, love. I’m the red light special.”

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” I said. Even as I spoke I could feel the smile reaching my eyes. Why did I suddenly have warm fuzzy feelings for Bade? He winked at me then and I decided I didn’t care enough to analyze it right now. Whatever the cause, it felt good to return his smile.

“At least this time we’ve got clothes on,” he teased. His pale blue eyes gleamed with mischief as he extended his big hand to Kat. “The names Bade Garren.” He smiled. “And who might you be?”

She took his hand but seemed beyond speech. Seeing as how Bade was one of the most gorgeous men I’d ever laid eyes on, I couldn’t blame her. However, I felt I should intervene.

“This is my friend Kathryn Roberts,” I said as I leaned in close. It must have looked like I was hugging him, or coping a feel, but in a voice so soft only he could hear I whispered, “If you touch her, I’ll kill you.”

I pulled back to find him smiling. As he released Kat’s hand, I took a step away from Dracula and moved closer to the werewolf. I ran my hands inside the open front of his shirt, and caressed his chest. The sensation was much more pleasurable than I had remembered. The last time Bade and I had any sort of contact, someone had driven a large wooden pole through the right side of his chest. It had been the first time I’d used my powers to heal anyone other than myself. I had felt his desire then, and I could feel it now as I touched him. Desire coursed through his veins, running hot just like his blood.

Up until this moment I had felt slightly threatened by Bade. I knew he wanted to hurt me, but in a good way. Now, as I stood there with my hands inside his shirt, I was nearly overcome. He was so warm and firm underneath my hands. I could feel his muscles shifting with each breath as I moved my hands to touch his sides. His breathing grew faster and I fought the urge to press my lips against his chest. I could tell people were starting to watch us, but I didn’t care. I was no longer frightened of Bade. As a low growl escaped my lips I wondered if he should fear me.

“I see you finished healing,” I said softly as I moved my hand over the left side of his chest to find his silver nipple ring. Bade always wore a silver stud through his left nipple, and I had bitten it off the first time we met.

I’m not sure what came over me when I touched him. It could have been the full moon and the fact that he’s an alpha werewolf. It could have been the fact that I’d gone so long without sex. Maybe it was just that I got hornier around the full moon also, but most likely, it was just Bade.

I leaned in closer and breathed in his scent as I rubbed my face from his stomach to the middle of his chest. That was as far as I could reach, even in heels. He moaned as I continued to rub my face over the fine blond hairs on his chest, and when I flicked my tongue over his nipple ring, he wasn’t the only one who gasped.

I pulled back and smiled shamelessly at an ancient vampire sitting to our right. He didn’t look ancient, but there was something about him that told me otherwise.

“It’s awfully good to see you, Bade,” I purred in my best bedroom voice.

Readers, We're happy to announce the winners of Romance Excerpts Only September BLOG Event! Congratulations to the following readers.

Virginia ~ A copy of "Locked in his Heart" by Catherine Stag

Tami C ~ A copy of "All the right Moves" by Debbie Wallace

Pam P ~ A copy of "Taking Control" by Jamie Hill

Michelle ~ Your choice of a download from Dawn Montgomery

Ladycat713 ~ A copy of "Avenue of Dreams" by Anne Whitfield

Kammie ~ A copy of "Courting Trouble" by Renee Knowles

Kaisquared ~ A copy of "Seabird" by Kay Swanson

Eva S ~ Your choice of a download from Sloane Taylor

Estella ~ A copy of "Shoon Joining" by Jude Mason

Dlynnpen ~ Your choice of a book from Marie-Nicole Ryan

Dina ~ Your choice of a book from Lisabet Sarai

Connie Northrop ~ A copy of "Under the Magnolia" by Moira Rogers

Claredivatoo ~ A copy of "Forget Me Not" by Ericka Scott

ChristyJan ~ A copy of "Carinian's Seeker" by TJ Michaels

Cherie J ~ A copy of "Voodo Bones" by Melanie Atkins

Cathie ~ Your choice of a download from Sloane Taylor

Buddyt ~ A copy of "The Long Way Home" by Jena Galifany

Bev ~ A choice of a book from Kate Hill

ArkieRN ~ A copy of "Going Topless" by Renee Knowles

JWIsey ~ A copy of Serati's Flame by TJ Michaels

Linda B ~ A copy of "The Widow-Maker" by Amy Gallow

Annalisa ~ A choice of a book from Marie-Nicole Ryan

Authors, please post your email address so the readers can contact you. Readers, please contact the authors to claim your prize. Be sure to let them know you're a winner from REO's September Blog Event. Congratulations, and we thank you for all your fabulous comments and for participating.

Underdead in Denial By Liz JasperSequel to Underdead Available now from www.cerridwenpress.com

It's been a quiet summer for middle-school science teacher Jo Gartner — not a pre-teen or a vampire in sight. Just as she begins to believe that the enigmatic vampire who turned her "almost Undead" was a bad dream, Will shows up on her doorstep, making Jo more determined than ever to avoid all things vampire and maintain a normal life. And what's more normal than doing community service to help a lovesick friend? But getting dressed up in a Halloween costume for a haunted house fundraiser is not what Jo had in mind. Especially as the entire vampire community seems to be drawn to the place.

When one of the haunted house extras turns up dead, Jo's hope for a quiet existence slips away faster than an eighth grader can shoot a spitball through a cafeteria straw. A rash of "accidents" makes it hard for Jo to know whom to trust, especially when her once-reliable detective turns standoffish and sexy vampire Will grows entirely too charming. She must choose allies carefully as she races to unmask the killer…or the next death might be her own!

If you'd like to catch up in the series, UNDERDEAD is available in ebook and paperback.

“UNDERDEAD is certainly not your typical vampire story, it's better…. I guarantee UNDERDEAD will have you laughing out loud, while keeping you in suspense right up until the end.”--Two Lips Reviews

"Hysterically funny…a page-turner extraordinaire." –Myshelf.com

Five Stars! "Amusing fast-paced paranormal whodunit that the audience will enjoy because of the combination of suspense, romance and the supernatural. Jo is terrific!"—Harriet Klausner, Amazon.com #1 Reviewer

Happy reading!--Liz

Liz Jasper is the award-winning author of Underdead and Underdead in Denial. You can read excerpts and reviews of her mystery novels at www.lizjasper.com